Local Auctions.

[Fly_Cut]

Back home I use to go to auctions every couple of months. Are there any local auctions around Calgary or has everything gone online now.

 

[Jayham]

I think Covid put the nail in the coffin for in person auctions. Kinda sad, I much preferred in person bidding and the atmosphere.

Online get you better exposure, more potential customers.

 

[Fly_Cut]

SO....
If in person auctions are a thing of the past, what local online auctions have any of come to like and trust?
Are there any?

 

[Chicken lights]

Most online auctions are a scam in one way or another. Seems to be a bigger market in the USA if you're looking for specific equipment. Ritchie Bro's is usually a good place to go for heartache and disappointment. Calgary car auctions seem like they're a middle man between the insurance companies and chop shops. YMMV but I'd feel safer buying from the USA than Calgary

 

[Susquatch]

SO....
If in person auctions are a thing of the past, what local online auctions have any of come to like and trust?
Are there any?

None.

On the other hand, there is the odd auction today that is combined. You can go, attend, and bid in person but you are still bidding against the rest of the world. That's the only kind I trust anymore - but it's still tough slugging.

It's all very sad. A whole era has died right in front of our eyes.

 

[140mower]

None.

On the other hand, there is the odd auction today that is combined. You can go, attend, and bid in person but you are still bidding against the rest of the world. That's the only kind I trust anymore - but it's still tough slugging.

It's all very sad. A whole era has died right in front of our eyes.

On the flip side to all of that, we now have marketplace etc and deals are still to be had. But, yes, the loss of the auction houses is a blow to social events geared to folks like us....... oh well, I hear it's polka night at the old folks home tonight, so I am covered..... 🙄

 

[Doggggboy]

oh well, I hear it's polka night at the old folks home tonight, so I am covered..... 🙄

What has 80 feet and smells like piss?
The line dance at the seniors home.

 

[trlvn]

What is there to trust about an auction? More than once at an in-person auction, there was back-and-forth bidding between 2 people but I could only see one. The "other" was at the back of the crowd. How does one ever know if the other is a real bidder and not a stooge or shill for the auctioneer? How are online auctions actually different?

At least with an online auction, I don't have to stand around all day waiting for the few things I'm interested in to come up for sale. And if two auctions are closing on the same day, I can still 'attend' both.

I've bought quite a bit of my metalworking stuff via online auctions. I've had some excellent deals and only a couple of purchases that were a serious disappointment. About the same ratio as when I was buying woodworking stuff at in-person auctions.

Either way, the best approach is to look at each lot and set a price limit that _you_ are OK to pay. Remember that every dollar you bid comes along with buyers premium and tax. It you don't get it at your price, shrug and wait for the next similar lot to come along.

Craig
Remember in-person auctions where, during the preview, folks would 'bury' something valuable in a crappy box lot? Then buy the lot for scrap value and 'find' the buried item? Yeah, good times.

 

[Fly_Cut]

My biggest concern is.
In-person, I know I'm going to get whatever I bid on when I'm done.
I've never done any online bidding because I'm worried It's an outright scam and I'm never even going to get anything in the end.
I'm even getting tired of Amazon these days.
They send me the wrong item, want to charge me shipping to return it and the original seller doesn't even exist anymore.
I still prefer in person transactions.